


just a dare

by marmolita



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, F/M, Fluff, High School, Kissing, M/M, Pre-Canon, age-appropriate underage kissing, kissing on a dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 05:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12857832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmolita/pseuds/marmolita
Summary: Noctis stops as a girl approaches him.  "Please don't throw me in jail," she says, then leans in and kisses him full on the mouth.





	just a dare

**Author's Note:**

> Generally this is just a bit of fluff about kissing that I couldn't get out of my head, but there are some warnings, so . . . Warnings: this fic involves people daring each other to kiss Noctis, so the kissing is non-consensual, but it's kids doing it on a dare, not in a creepy way. There's also a scene where bullies pressure a girl into doing it and insult her physical appearance.

Noctis enrolls in a public junior high school when he's twelve years old. He's finally caught up to his peers, the past few years of private tutoring having closed the gap left by his long convalescence. Noctis has never had friends his own age, and he doesn't start now -- not when people point and whisper and bow instead of treating him like a peer. The only time the other kids talk to him is when they're made to by their teacher, or when they're asking him about life in the Citadel. It's easier to just not answer.

He's polite enough when he does work with his classmates on group projects, and they gradually ease up just a bit around him, but it still feels like there's a barrier that he can't manage to bring down. That's why it comes as a complete surprise when a girl calls his name as he's walking towards the lunch room. Noctis stops as a girl approaches him. "Please don't throw me in jail," she says, then leans in and kisses him full on the mouth.

Before he can blink she's running away, her friends giggling and whispering, and Noctis is left red-faced in the middle of the corridor, touching his lips in confusion.

It happens again about a month later -- a different girl this time, but a sudden kiss out of nowhere and with no explanation. The time after that, Noctis hears the kids saying, "Come on, I dare you," and, "I'll get arrested!" and, "Miki didn't get arrested, neither will you!" and he starts to understand.

It's Lulu this time, a nice enough girl from his class, and she's blushing before she even comes up to him. "Sorry, they dared me," she says, then bends down and presses a quick kiss to his lips. Again, she runs as soon as she's accomplished her goal, and Noctis is left wondering what he's supposed to do.

In the end, he's too uncomfortable about it to tell anyone, much less to stop it, so he gives up and just lets it happen. It's not _all_ the time, maybe once every couple months, and it's never the same girl twice; sometimes it's even boys. He starts to get used to it.

When he starts high school, he doesn't immediately think about whether or not the kissing dares will continue, because he's too preoccupied with having a friend who isn't tied to him by duty or prophecy. So he's caught off guard when he and Prompto are stretching by the bleachers during gym class, sweaty from the run they just finished, and a girl jogs over to them and kisses him.

"Sorry!" she squeaks as she runs away again, and Noctis sighs and starts stretching his hamstrings.

"Dude," Prompto says, looking back and forth between Noctis and the girl. "Dude!"

"What?"

"That girl just kissed you! She's in your math class, right?"

"Uh . . . I think so?"

"Dude!"

"Prompto, you said 'dude' like three times."

Prompto stares at him, then gestures widely. "Dude! Don't you even _care_?"

Noctis realizes with a start that as much as he feels like he's known Prompto forever, they've only actually been friends for a few months, and Prompto wasn't in his class in middle school. "It's a dare," he says. "Kids have been kissing me on dares for years. Doesn't mean anything."

"That's . . . kind of weird, Noct."

"Is it?"

"Uh, yeah. It really is." Prompto is looking at him with a confused expression, and it's uncomfortably similar to the way people look at him when they find out he's royalty. Before he can reply, their teacher blows his whistle and they head to the locker room to shower.

*

If there's one thing about high school that's different, it's that the kids kissing him are a whole lot bolder. It's not very long after his second year starts that a boy grabs him while he's talking to Prompto and sticks his tongue into Noct's mouth. The encounter leaves Noctis blushing and blinking in surprise, and Prompto looking at him like he's grown a second head.

"Don't say anything," Noctis warns. Prompto puts up his hands and says nothing.

*

"I dare you to kiss the prince," a boy says, leaning against his locker. He elbows a chubby girl with braces, and Noctis sighs. They're being loud enough that they have to know he can hear them from down the hall, where he's waiting for Prompto to finish putting his books away.

"She'll never do it," another girl says, "and besides, Prince Noctis wouldn't let an ugly girl like her kiss him."

"I bet it'll make him puke," the boy says, as Noctis frowns in anger. "Besides she's never kissed anyone before. Who would kiss her?"

"Those guys are the worst," Prompto whispers in Noct's ear. "Used to steal my lunch money when I was a kid. They've been bullying Anna for weeks -- she's nice, she's in my history class."

Noctis turns when Anna approaches him. She's trembling and looks nervous, but determined to go through with it. When she gets on her toes to reach up to him, Noctis leans down, cups her face with his hand, and meets her halfway. He closes his eyes and kisses her gently but firmly, lingering past when most of the classmates who kiss him would have run away. When he pulls away, she's looking up at him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks, and he smiles at her and says, "That should get them to leave you alone."

"Th-- thanks!" she whispers, then turns and walks away, not just from Noctis but from the bullies as well, who all stare after her in amazement, then turn to stare at Noctis.

"What are you looking at?" Noctis asks, which scatters them quite effectively.

"Oh, man," Prompto sighs. "Kissed by Prince Charming."

"Shut up," Noctis says testily. "It's not like it was my idea."

"Is it ever? I mean, have you ever kissed someone because you wanted to?"

"Not . . . really?"

Prompto shuts his locker and slings his bag over his shoulder. "That's kind of sad, bro."

"What, have you?" Noctis teases.

"Hey! Not the point!" Prompto whines, but he changes the subject, which is really all Noctis wanted.

*

Somehow, after years of having random classmates kiss him, none of them have ever done it after school. At least, not until now. Noctis is waving goodbye to Prompto and heading for Ignis's car when a girl runs up to him and grabs him. She's gone as soon as she came, dare completed, and Noctis shrugs and slides into the passenger seat of the car. It takes him a moment to register that Ignis is looking at him strangely.

"What? What's wrong?"

Ignis clears his throat. "Is that girl someone I should know about, Your Highness?"

"What girl?"

"I have eyes, Noct. That was a rather public kiss."

"Oh, no, that's not-- she's not-- I don't even really know her."

Ignis pulls away from the curb as he says, "You seemed to know her rather well I thought."

"People dare each other to kiss me. It's not a big deal, it's been going on for years. I guess I never told you about it."

Ignis looks at him sharply. "Do you mean to tell me that you've been . . . molested by your classmates for _years_?"

"It's just kissing, Specs. It's a stupid dare. It's not like they're groping me or something."

"It's hardly appropriate. I'm honestly puzzled as to why you didn't tell me about this when it started."

Noctis sighs. "I don't want to get them in trouble. They don't mean anything by it."

"Mm," Ignis says, but Noctis can tell it's not quite a sound of agreement. "Still, I think I may need to have a chat with your school officials."

Noctis groans. "Please don't, it's really not a big deal." Ignis's mouth is pressed into a line, a clear sign that he won't be put off that easily.

*

Noctis isn't sure exactly what Ignis does, but he ends up with Gladio escorting him to and from school on the days Ignis doesn't pick him up. It's not that bad, actually. Prompto usually walks partway with him, and Gladio is starting to get used to Prompto and even joke around with him. It's nice to have the two parts of his life connect like this.

It also means that Gladio is there the next time someone tries to kiss him by the school gates. More specifically, a boy comes over and leans in toward Noctis, only to find himself smashing his face into Gladio's well-muscled chest instead. The boy staggers back in surprise, and Noctis muffles a laugh with his hand at the expression on his face.

"You want to touch the prince, you gotta go through me," Gladio says in his best shield voice, and the boy stammers an apology and runs away. When Gladio turns back around, he's grinning, and Prompto and Noctis burst out in laughter.

"Was that really necessary?" Noctis asks.

Gladio shrugs. "Ain't right for people to force themselves on you, Noct, even if it's just kissing. Maybe that'll give them a hint to keep their lips to themselves."

"See?" Prompto says, "I told you it was weird."

"Yeah, yeah." Noctis tries to act put out, but really, he's glad that his friends care so much.

*

Gladio's intimidation is successful at stopping the kissing. What Noctis doesn't expect is how much he _misses_ it. Even if none of the people kissing him were the people he would have chosen, it was still kind of nice to have that contact with someone every once in a while.

He says as much to Prompto, when they're sitting alone in the park, finishing up the ice cream they picked up on the way there. "I get it," Prompto says, balling up the wrapper from his cone and tossing it in the trash can. "Nobody's ever kissed me, but I wish they had, even if it wasn't perfect."

Noctis finishes off his own cone, then leans back on the bench, watching fondly as Prompto fidgets with his wristband. "I've never kissed anyone I wanted to," he says tentatively. "You've never kissed anyone at all." Prompto looks at him, cocking an eyebrow. "We could solve both of those problems right now, if you want."

Prompto's brow furrows, then he suddenly understands what Noctis is saying and his gaze flickers to Noct's mouth. "Do you mean--"

"If you want," Noctis repeats, but he's already moving forward, even as Prompto breathes, " _Yeah_ ," and leans in to meet him. Prompto's lips are cold from the ice cream, and when Noctis teases his mouth open, he tastes like chocolate.

It's the best kiss he's ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [ienablu](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ienablu) for beta, and to all my other buddies who listened to me blather about this idea! (who did I talk to about this? ivorydice, introductory, r3zuri?? thanks guys)
> 
> Find me on tumblr [@marmolita](http://marmolita.tumblr.com)!


End file.
